Chris Lane is a country music singer and songwriter originally from North Carolina, now living in Nashville. Before beginning his solo career in 2014, Chris was the front man for the Chris Lane Band.
Chris’s debut single, “Broken Windshield View”, was released to country radio in June of 2014 and quickly reached number 45 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. In 2016 Chris released his debut album, Girl Problems, which includes his first No. 1 single, “Fix” and his top 10 single, “For Her.” His second solo album, Laps Around The Sun was released in 2018. The album features “Take Back Home Girl”, a duet with Tori Kelly which charted in the top 15 of Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay.
Later, in 2019, Chris released his single “Big, Big Plans,” another one of his songs to reach No. 1 on the BillboardCountry Airplay chart. In his career so far, Chris has performed alongside The Band Perry, Eli Young Band, Brad Paisley, and Brantley Gilbert, among others. In 2014, he opened for Florida Georgia Line on their This Is How We Roll Tour where the group traveled across the country together.
Chris married his wife Lauren Bushnell, who was an alum of The Bachelor, in 2019 and the couple now has two children together who have helped dictate the path of Chris’s future career.
Chris is about to tour across the US and Canada beginning in Arizona on March 16th and ending on August 24th at the YQM Countryfest in Dieppe, NB, Canada. He will also have performances in smaller venues around the US as part of his Find Another Bar Tour: College Edition.
We met with Chris Lane at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville and talked about his first stadium show ever, the inspiration behind his upcoming tour, and his love for golfing.
You’ve toured all over the country. Have you found any hidden gems that you would tell people to visit?
As far as touring goes, I feel like I have some favorite places that I’ve played. I got to play Fenway Park, which was really cool. Wrigley Field, which was cool. I played college baseball, so for me it was a nice full circle moment. I would say outside of music and just traveling in general, one of my favorite places in the entire world is the Virgin Islands. Jost Van Dyke Island to be exact. I feel like I’ve been to quite a few places, but that’s probably one of my favorite places to go and hang.
That’s awesome about the baseball stadiums. I saw Morgan Wallen and HARDY at Fenway last year. It’s a really remarkable place to play.
I was a wreck all day. I got to take some batting practice. It was a special night. It was really cool. That was my first stadium show ever. It was Florida Georgia Line, Backstreet Boys, Nelly. It was incredible. It had been raining all day.
I went running out on stage during my first song and flipped off of my feet and hit my back so hard, my feet were way up into the air. I was in the middle of a song, so I just laid there and sang some of the song on my back and laughed it off and got up. It sucked in the moment because you feel like people are laughing at you, but at the end of the day, it was a viral moment and it only helped.
I saw you last at CMA a couple years ago. Do you have any favorite CMA moments over the years?
I think finally graduating up to the CMA Riverfront stage from being on one of the tiny little sized stages was a very exciting moment in my career. Back when I first started and I got my first chance to play Riverfront, I was out on tour with Florida Georgia Line at that point, and they were going to show up and surprise people. A terrible thunderstorm happened halfway through. That was definitely memorable. I just want to graduate from Riverfront and play the stadium one day.
Tell me about the story behind “Find Another Bar.”
It’s a song I wrote about 3 or 4 years ago. I’m glad it’s finally getting its time to shine. I’d really just gone through “For Her,” “Take Back Home Girl,” “I Don’t Know About You,” “Big, Big Plans,” all love songs in a row. I felt it was time to change it up. I love my wife, and I love love, but at the same time, it’s country music.
Every country star has got to have a good heart break song. I felt like this was a unique way to write that. I wrote it with another country artist, Josh Thompson, who I love writing with. We felt like we had a special song after that day and I’m glad I finally got a chance to record that thing.
You’ve got a big tour coming up. Tell me a bit about the inspiration behind it.
Yeah. I created this Find Another Bar Tour: College Edition. This is not a normal tour for me. I wish I could take credit for this idea, but I saw Kenny Chesney do something very similar way back in the day. The reason I know about this is because he came to my hometown, to this tiny little bar in North Carolina, a place called Ziggy’s. It was absolutely incredible. He had no business playing there. He did it for fun.
So then when I thought about ‘What’s my next move, what do I want to do? I played the arenas, the stadiums, all that kind of stuff.’ I thought that this would be a fun thing for me to go do. It’s obviously not about money because the places are going to be really small.
It’s a fun way for me to get back to how I first started playing music and keeping the tickets low for fans. Just first come, first serve basis. I don’t know how many of these shows I’m going to do, but I’m gonna get my feet wet with it and see if I love it as much as I loved seeing these shows.
Any venues you’re looking forward to going to?
The one in Oxford, Mississippi is supposed to be really cool, at Proud Larry’s. I went through Oxford way back in the day, this place called The Lyric, which is a much bigger room than Proud Larry’s. I think Proud Larry’s can fit about 200 or 300 people.
I specifically remember that show because I had just put out “Big, Big Plans.” It was one of my first shows playing that song live. I can even remember the video. The crowd sang that song so loud, I knew I had another hit right then and there. That’s one of the main reasons I wanted to make it back to Oxford.
You have two little ones now. Is there anywhere that you traveled growing up that you’re looking forward to taking them?
Well, I feel like we grew up going to Myrtle Beach. That was about the only trip we got to take. It was about a three-hour. We always looked forward to that. It’s a little bit easier to get down to 30A from Nashville. We like going to this place called Alys Beach.
I’m trying to get my parents to switch from going to Myrtle Beach to going there. They still enjoy their trip to Myrtle every year. But for us, with kids, it’s hard to get down there. We like the situation that we have there in 30A. I’m a beach guy. My wife is a mountain girl, but she also loves going down there. But if she had it her way, we’d be going on skiing trips. I’m not much for cold weather, but I’ll let her win one day.
What’s inspiring you to write right now?
Honestly, I’ve lived a lot of life. Now that I have two kids, I think life looks a little bit different for me. I spent the last eight years touring about as heavily as one can tour and just going, going, going. So, I’ve slowed down a lot, which has given me the opportunity to be there for my sons while they’re so young. Dutton is two and Baker is one.
It’s giving me a chance to be there for them but also to write a lot of songs that I’m incredibly proud of and ones that I was able to get into the studio this past week and finally record. A lot of them are brand new, but some I wrote 3 or 4 years ago when I’d bring a lot of writers out on the road with me and try to kill two birds with one stone.
I prefer to write on the road because generally when you’re touring, you only get two free days a week and then you’re right back out touring again. So, I would bring writers out on my bus and we’d get up in the morning time. I try to use my time wisely. Unless it’s summertime, I have to get up and play golf.
I was going to ask what you like to do in your downtime on the road. So, you’re a golfer? Any favorite courses?
I am a golfer. Oh my gosh, yes. All over this country. That is one of the perks of touring and being a country artist, is being able to go to great golf courses. In fact, I was on tour with Rascal Flatts. I didn’t golf a lot at that point in my career because I didn’t have time for it. I was doing radio shows and then concerts basically every day of the week, just trying to get my career off the ground.
I went out on tour with those guys and they loved golf and they would take my brother and I, who plays drums for me, to the best golf courses you could get on. We’d get out there during the morning time. It was just four hours of uninterrupted time with them, which allowed me to get to know them really well. Now I work with Jay DeMarcus which is great. Again, a full circle moment for me.
But through that tour I made so many incredible golf contacts. Anywhere I go I usually have the hookup. I’m calling months in advance to make sure that golf is set up for me in the morning. If I could have a second career at anything, it would be professional golf. I just suck. I’m too bad for that to ever happen to me.
What’s your perfect day in Nashville?
It definitely is golfing at my country club. Probably a little date night and obviously just hanging with the kids whenever I get home from golfing. Lauren and I don’t get a chance to go out and do a lot but for her birthday, I took her downtown to this place called Bourbon. It was great. It was cool. It’s a nice view of the city. Over on our side of town, there’s this place called Sperry’s. It’s an old school steakhouse that’s really cool. Honestly, it’s so close that it makes it easy for us to have a sitter.
What are your must pack items for touring, other than golf clubs?
Yeah, definitely golf clubs. I have to have a fan. I know it sounds crazy. I can’t sleep without a fan. For me it’s about temperature. I need it to be freezing cold, and I need that fan blowing directly into my face.
I wake up every morning with a dry throat, and my wife and I don’t argue over much, but our biggest arguments happen over my fan. I’m like, ‘Honey, you don’t understand. I can’t sleep without this fan.’ For people who sleep without a fan, they don’t get it. But if you need the fan to sleep, you do get it.
Another thing that I specifically love and need is cold brew coffee. There’s a specific brand, Califia Farms that I like. I have it on my rider. We’re getting two of those every day and now I got the band guys hooked on it. No one’s drinking hot coffee.
They like the cold brew now. I’m thankful for it, because every freaking day I was going to Starbucks and my wife’s like, ‘Why do you go to Starbucks every day?’ I’m like, ‘I probably should try one of these cold brews from the grocery store’ and thank the Lord I did because I honestly like it just as much.